


The Strays

by RahRaZorBlade



Category: One Direction
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Homeless, M/M, Multi, Protective Liam, Protective Louis, Runaway, Self Harm, Sick Harry, Sick Niall, Sick Zayn, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, abandoned, daddy direction, kicked out, kicked out of home, mugged, sleeping in public toilet, smartass Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5029336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RahRaZorBlade/pseuds/RahRaZorBlade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys were a bunch of runaways and rejects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My Whole Life They Said I'd Be Nothing, Well I'm Something, And I Would Rather Be The Stray Than Be Nothing To No One At All. 
> 
> The Strays - Sleeping With Sirens.

People always looked at them weirdly, evilly. Like they had the plague or something. Like they were just another burden to society.

They were the runaways and the abandoned, the lost causes. Five individual boys from five separate families, they got together, you know, TOGETHER. And well, no one liked it, it was... Unnatural. It was 'bad enough' when two members of the same sex got together, let alone five members of the same sex.

There were only a handful of people, if even that, that looked at them kindly and smiled brightly as they passed.

Zayn would always glare at people who gave them dirty looks.

Louis would be a smart ass and make out with one (or sometimes two) of his boys to scare people away.

Liam would slap the older boy on the shoulder and tell him to grow up, (Louis would roll his eyes and end it with "lighten up.")

Niall tried to stay away from the attention. He would shy away from the uncertain looks, hiding behind his boyfriends. Having the three eldest to keep him safe.

Harry was usually quiet, he didn't like attracting attention, the town looked down on them enough, they didn't need to add more to that.


	2. Harry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell Is So Close To Heaven, Hell Is So Close To Heaven. Hold On, Don't Look Back, You Know We're Better We're Better Than That. Lost And Thrown Away.

"I didn't mean to do it. I didn't know." He whispered, tears falling down his cheeks.

How could he make this right? How could he get his parents to forgive him?

His dad shook his head and glared.  
"Get out of my sight. You're no son of mine."

He felt his heart break. Looking to his mum for reassurance.

"Pack your stuff, Harry. We want you out in an hour."

"But-Mum-" he was cut off and pushed to the wall.

"You don't have the right to call her that." His dad spat before both parents walked out the door.

Harry slid down the wall, till he was sitting on the ground.

He grabbed his phone.

Hate messages were still filling his inbox from different social media apps.

All saying the same thing. Telling his how disgusting he was.

He packed his bag, grabbing all the money he had made from pocket money, the bakery and his band. Shoving it all into a small ziplock bag and shoving it into his duffle bag.

A sob left his lips as he looked around, making sure he had all the important stuff.

He wiped at the tears on his face an turned when the door opened.

"It's been an hour. Now get out." His dad glared.

Harry looked to his mum once more, hoping she would stop him.

Harry walked past his parents, out of the room.

Once out the front door, he heard the door lock behind him.

He held back the tears and the sobs and walked down the road.

He walked until it got dark. It's not like he could ring a friend and ask to stay at their place. He lost all his friends.

He sat by an old playground. He pulled his beanie further down over his ears, and pulled his jacket so it covered his neck, even though he was wearing a scarf, his neck was still cold.

He cried himself to sleep, hoping tomorrow he'd have a message on his phone from his mum, telling him to come home.

But he didn't. And he didn't get one the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. And 2 months later, he still didn't.

He had been on the streets for 11 weeks, showering daily at the public campground. Disgusting.

But one of those days he wasn't feeling well, his whole body ached, his head hurt, his eyes were sensitive to the light, and there was a constant need to vomit. He couldn't stop shivering and he was sure his lips were blue.

It barely registered when he heard foot steps getting closer. Or when he felt someone shake him softly.

He cracked his eyes open, whimpering when the light stung his eyes.

"Shit." He heard the voice say.  
"Hey, Mate, I'm just gonna cover your ears for a sec."

Harry didn't even have the energy to nod or shove the intruder off.

Though his ears were covered he still heard the voice in front of him yell out the names 'Liam, Niall and Zayn'.

Hurried foot steps ran towards them.  
"What?" Came a new voice.

"Shhhh. I think he's I'll" the voice in front of him said.

Harry tightened his arms around his head as the voices kept talking.

"Lemme look." One of the voices said again.

Feet shuffled towards him.  
"Hey, bud, my name's Liam, can you tell me your name?"

Harry slightly shook his head, not wanted to talk and not wanting to hurt his head.

"You're alright, Mate. Help me with him Louis." Liam said.

"Niall, take his bag, please."

"Harry." Niall said reading the name tag. Harry opened his eyes slightly, looking to the Irish boy.  
"Is that your name? Harry?"

Harry gave a small noticeable nod.

"That's a beautiful name. Hazza." Louis said with a small smile.

"Just close your eyes, Mate. Get some sleep." Harry noticed the slightly tanned boy hanging in the back. Before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

The next time Harry woke up he was warm. Really warm. He opened his eyes, only to be met by darkness. Which was great for his eyes and his head.

He sighed in relief as the pain seemed to be a bit better.

"How're you doing, Love?" Harry recognised the voice from before.

"You're Louis, right?" He whispered, He was comfortable, he didn't want to ruin that.

Louis nodded with a smile  
"That's right."

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

Louis smiled fondly.  
"This is our place. I've been here the longest, 6 months and 23 days. It's not much, but it'll have to do."

Harry nodded.

"Here you are." Liam, Niall and Zayn entered the room, Zayn was holding a lit candle. And Liam was holding a glass of fizzing water.

"It's dissolvable panadol. It'll help."

"Thanks." Harry sat up, taking the plastic cup from the older boy.

"You're welcome." Liam said, sitting on the side of the bed. Niall sat on Louis' lap and Zayn sat on other side of Liam.

Liam hesitantly reached out to stroke Harry's hair.

"How long were you on the streets for?" He asked.

Harry gulped.  
"Uhh, I'm not sure exactly, three-four months?

Harry frowned and lowered his head.  
"They found out and didn't want me anymore." He whispered.

"Found out what?" Zayn asked, having a fair idea of where this conversation was going.

"It was just meant to be a dare, I didn't want to do it, but they set me up. They threw the door open when I was-" He gulped.  
"-When I was on my knees and he was-they wouldn't stop laughing. They sent the photos to everyone at school and eventually my parents saw, and kicked me out."

Niall looked at Louis and tilted his head in confusion, Earning a sad smile and the words 'Blow Job' to be mouthed. Niall frowned, then stood up.

Harry wiped at the tears that ran down his face, feeling the bed dip as an arm snaked around his waist. He turned to his right and noticed the blonde haired boy was now smiling at him.

"You'll be alright. I'm not saying you'll be fine tomorrow or anything, but eventually. And you're more than welcome to stay here with us for as long as you need." He gave a warm smile.

"Thank you. So much." Harry smiled engulfing the Irish one into a hug.  
\--  
-Time skip-

The two youngest boys were laying on the bed (if you could call it that), Harry was biting his bottom lip, it was bruised and bleeding.

Niall reached out a hand to pull the swollen lip out from between his teeth.

"You okay?" Niall asked, morphing his body into Harry's.

The younger boy nodded.  
"Yeah, it's just winter's coming, what are we going to do about heating?" He whispered.

Living in an old abandoned house that had electricity, but only worked sometimes, had no heating, and had major leaking issues was a huge problem.

Louis, over hearing the concerns stepped in with his smart ass comments.  
"Spooning while sleeping naked of course." He grinned.

Harry and Niall both blushed.

The second eldest boy laughed.  
"He's kidding, lads, don't fret. We'll work out something." Zayn smiled.

"Don't tease them, they're too innocent." Liam frowned, nudging Louis in the leg with his foot.

Harry groaned. He hated being called innocent, it made me feel smaller and younger than he actually was.

A small silence stretched over the room, it wasn't awkward by any means, it was comfortable.

"No, but seriously, Haz, what's wrong, we know it's not because of winter coming. You can tell us the truth." Liam urged.

Harry sighed and turned to Niall, who was still clinging to him. But was now running a hand through his hair.

"It's been a year. Since they kicked me out." He mumbled.

Niall clung to the younger boy tighter, kissing his cheek.

Louis, Liam and Zayn got up from their different spots located around the room and sat by the other two.

"It's alright, Harry." Louis whispered into his hair.

"You've got us now." Zayn said, rubbing at the youngest's thighs.

Liam nodded in agreement, entwining one of his hands with Harry and the other with Niall.

A small smile danced around Harry's lips.  
"I know. And I'm really glad I do. It's just, I wonder what they're doing sometimes? I wonder if they even miss me." His said, eyes tearing up.

"They, they just kicked me out. Said I'm nothing to them." His eyes dulled at the memories.

Louis tilted his chin up and pulled him in closet till their lips were nearly touching.

"It's okay, Babycakes, you'll alway have us." He smiled, kissing Harry passionately.

Harry pulled back with a smile.  
"Always."


	3. Zayn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Train Tracks To The Stage, Play That Role, The One You Made. Long Nights And The Worst Days, Lived It All, But I Didn't Break.

He could take it. All of it. Every punch, every kick, every slap.

Sad to say, but he was used to it. It's been going on for years, for far too long.

"I'm outa here!" He growled, fists clenched, almost white with anger.

His father's drunken slurs bellowed across the room.  
"Get back here boy! I'm not done with you! You step out that door and I'll give you more than just a black eye and busted lip." His dad grit his teeth.

He looked back to his father.  
"Go ahead. But you're not stopping me from walking out this door."

He swung his already packed bag (it's been packed for months) over one shoulder and shook his head.

"Zayn! Get back here! You're leaving just like she did!"

Zayn stopped in his tracks. Pausing to look behind him.

Glaring at the man who gave him a terrible childhood, the man who ruined his life.

"I don't blame her for leaving." He snarled before walking out the door, he started running when he heard the heavy foot steps run after him.

"Zayn! Zayn! Get your fucking ass back here! Zayn!" His father yelled, his voice echoing in the night air.

Zayn ran down the street in the cold night air and laughed to himself. He was free. Finally fucking free.

He didn't want to go to his friend's house incase his dad looked for him there.

He walked to the train station, looking at the available times.

He looked to the train timetable as he stepped up to buy his ticket.  
"One for London, please" he said, handing over a few crumpled bills.

The elderly lady behind the desk looked at him with worry.  
"Are you alright, Love? Do you need help?" She asked.

Zayn looked at her with confusion before realising and let out a forced laugh.  
"Oh. Uh, no Ma'am, just some kids from school." He said, probing at his injured eye.

She seemed to sigh a relief.  
"Well alright, the train leave in a few minutes. It's the last one for the night."

Zayn nodded.  
"Thank you."

Zayn got on the train, he sighed and rubbed at his sore face. He was exhausted. He would arrive in London in just a short few hours. So he had a few good hours of sleeping ahead of him.

He yawned and leant his head against the window, closing his eyes.  
'Can't believe I did it.' He thought to himself.

The train pulled away from the station, bringing a small relieved smile to his lips.

When he woke up, he looked to his nearly flat phone and sighed to himself. If the train was on time, he should be arriving in London in the next 22 minutes.

Once arriving at the station, Zayn stood up to stretch, making his back and neck pop in multiple places.

He stepped onto the platform, looking around him. It was still dark, just gone past midnight. He sighed and walked to the still busy street.

He had no idea where he was going to stay for the night. All hotels were closed at this time, it's not like he had the money to stay at one anyway.

He walked for what must've been only half an hour or so, coming across a small public bathroom. He groaned.

He walked inside and groaned again at disgusting sight. At lease there was a PowerPoint. He plunged in his now dead phone. He closed his eyes, sliding to the ground, leaning his head against the wall.

A small sniffle came from one of the cubicles.  
"Hello?" Zayn said. His voice echoing.

A quiet whimper was heard.

Zayn looked under the stalls, having a good view from all of them were he sat. Once seeing a small bag on the floor in one of the cubicles, but not seeing anyone, he stood up.

He walked over and knocked gently on the door.  
"Are you alright in there?" He asked.

There was a small gasp.

"My name's Zayn. Do-do you need help?"

The door clicked open and a pair of blue watery eyes peek through the gap, meeting his own.

Zayn frowned.  
"Are you alright?" He asked again.

The door pushed open, revealing a short boy with blonde hair, his lips tinted blue.

Zayn noticed the boy was only wearing a shirt (plus pants and shoes of course), but not a jumper.

"Oh! Here!" Zayn said, shrugging off his thick coat to wrap around the smaller boy.

The boy was still sniffling. And flinched away when Zayn gave him the jacket.

"I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name? Why are you out in the freezing cold without a jacket! C'mon I can walk you home it's late-" his rambling was cut off.

"No please don't! I can't go back!" The other boy panicked.

"Okay. Well what's your name?" Zayn asked.

The other boy sniffled.  
"Niall."

Zayn nodded.  
"I'm Zayn, but, I told you that before. Why are you out here?" He asked, walking backwards till he was back against the wall.

Niall sniffled, following to sit by Zayn on the floor.

"I couldn't stand to disappoint them anymore. They wanted to send me to the hospital." He frowned, tears still trailing down his cheeks.

Zayn felt sympathetic towards the small blonde sitting next to him. He held out a hand, hoping the younger boy would grab onto it.

A little smile made its way to Niall's face as he hesitantly took Zayn's hand in his own.

"Why the hospital?" Zayn urged.

Niall whimpered before slowly raising the sleeve of the jacket he was wearing.

Zayn gulped at seeing all the scars.  
"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be."

They both sat silently for a while. Hearing the traffic outside.

"It's been a week." Niall said with a sigh.

Zayn was confused at first then nodded.  
"This will be my first night." He frowned.

"Why are you out here?" Niall asked yawning.

Zayn sighed and let his head fall back on the wall.

"My dad. He was-he blamed me for my mum leaving when I was young. And he just- he-"

"Was abusive." Niall finished.

Zayn nodded.  
"Yeah he was. So I ran."

Niall yawned again and nodded, letting out a soft 'hmm'

Zayn opened his eyes when he felt the younger boy's head rest on his shoulder.  
"Get some sleep, Niall."

"Just-please don't leave me." Niall murmured with his eyes still closed.

"I won't. I promise."  
With that Niall's breathing evened out.

Zayn smiled and rested his head on top of Niall's, hoping he could get a few good hours of sleep.  
\--

After a month, they had been mugged and beaten, Zayn begged for the beatings if it meant no harm would come to the Irish boy.

They were inseparable, their relationship had grown into something beautiful. They often kissed and they learnt a lot about each other, like, Zayn learnt that Niall's parents tried to contact him for five days after he ran away, and when Niall got fed up with it, he chucked his phone in the river.

And Niall learnt that Zayn had to wear glasses but his dad smashed them the day he had run away, so he often got headaches from not having them.

They often saw posters in shop widows and on bulletin boards that read "Have you seen Niall Horan?" And a photo of the Irish lad, but they managed to rip them down when they could.

Niall was starting to feel weak from lack of food. He had stomach cramps, was dizzy, pale, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

They sat down, Niall's head in Zayn's lap. The elder boy knew he had to do something, he couldn't watch this happen to Niall.

They sat for a while, watching the sun set, watching the night life come to life. People dressed in fancy clothes. Talking about a new play that opened up just a few nights ago.

He stood up, picking Niall up and walked down the street. But also being weak from lack of food can take its toll.

He lost his grip on the young Irish boy, both fell to the ground.

Zayn heard foot steps rushing over to him.

"You alright lad?" A voice asked.

"'We're fine." Zayn whispered, exhaustion sweeping over his body.

"Hey! Hey, you alright? Mate."

Zayn turned to look at the voice. Bright blue eyes pierced into his mind.

"You look ill. Do you need me to call you a cab?" The blue eyed beauty asked.

Zayn shook his head  
"Got nowhere to go." He mumbled.

"Oh. You're a stray too?" The voice asked.

"Well let me help you then. You and your... Friend? Can come crash at my place. It's not much, but it'll do. Here you take this." The boy said, handing Zayn two hot Pizzas.

"And I'll take him." He added, picking Niall up, who was still sleeping.

They arrived at an old rundown shack. Louis kicked in the door, laying Niall on the bed, then turning to Zayn.

"You can stay here if you want. I'm Louis by the way, What's your name?" He rambled on.

Zayn extended his hand.  
"Thanks, Man. I'm Zayn and that's my bo-my-my friend, Niall." Blushing at his slip up, but pointing to the young sleeping boy.

Louis smiled knowingly.  
"You mean your boyfriend. It's alright, Mate. I'm not gonna kick you out for being gay. Now let's eat some pizza." He said rubbing his hands together.

Zayn walked over and shook Niall awake.  
"Time to eat, Ni. C'mon."

Niall looked around confusedly. pausing when his eyes landed on Louis.

"Hi, Niall. I'm Louis. I was just talking to your boyfriend here." He winked.

Niall blushed, picking up a piece of pizza and shoving it into his face.

The trio continued do what they had to do, only for three weeks later a surprise showed up in their doorstep.  
\---

\--Time Skip--

Zayn shook his head at the boys in front of him. He continued to sketch their flawless faces.

He smiled at the fondness they always gave each other. They were perfect.

"You alright. Z?" Liam asked.

Zayn nodded.

"Never better, love." He stood up, kissing Liam proudly on the lips.  
"Never better."


	4. Niall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubcaps And Ashtrays I Was Born But I Wasn't Raised. The Big Wheel, The Black Space. Tried My Best But Wasn't Praised.

He was always the reason his parents fought, and the reason they took his bedroom door away. That's why there was no locks on the bathroom door either.

His parents couldn't look him in the eyes and his brother couldn't stand being in the same room as him.

Niall laid in bed, running his fingers along the bandage on his wrist, his mistake.

"He needs to be put in hospital before he tries again!" He heard his mum's harsh whispers.

He heard his dad sigh.  
"We'll talk about this tonight. I have to go to work now tho. But if that's what you think is best for him, maybe we should consider it."

A lump got stuck in Niall's throat as his breathing became erratic. He threw the blanket over his head and clutched his wrist to his chest.

Memories of THAT night played through his head.

He didn't mean to do it. Cut, yes. Try to kill himself? No.

He had been cutting like he did every other time, but when the door slammed downstairs. He jumped and the blade slipped, it was too deep and had gone the wrong way.

His wrist wouldn't stop bleeding, no matter what he did. He put pressure on it, but that didn't work. He started getting dizzy and the last thing he remembers is his brother walking into his room and screaming.

After that, he woke up sometime later in the ambulance, looking to his left where people were holding his wrist with a blood covered bandage around it.

And to his right he saw his brother sobbing into his mum's chest. She was also crying.

He could hear his mum softly saying.  
"It's okay, baby. He's going to be okay."

But it wasn't okay, after that his family were awkward around him.

He snapped back to reality, he threw the blankets off of him, put on his shirt and shoes.

He picked up his phone, charger and school bag and jumped out of his bedroom window.

Once on the ground, he jumped the back fence and ran across the back paddock.

"I'm not crazy. I didn't try to kill myself." He sobbed to himself.

He collapsed to the ground when he was a decent distance away from the house.

'I can't go to a hospital.' He panicked.

He got back up on his legs and kept walking. He wasn't sure how long he was walking for. But he arrived the next town over.

He flopped onto the grass. He rummaged through his bag until he found his drink bottle and an apple (lucky he packs for school the night before)

He sighed to himself when his phone started ringing.

'Greg'

Niall gulped and pressed the 'deny' button. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, expecitialy his family.

He gulped down a few mouthfuls of water before biting into his apple.

He stood up, looking at the time. He had been walking all day, his best friend would be back from school within the hour. So Niall walked to his house.

He arrived just as his friend was walking up the drive way.

"Hey mate!" Niall yelled out.

Bright eyes looked back at him.  
"Niall? What the heck are you doing here? Where were you today? Your brother was worried about you, wouldn't stop asking if I've seen you."

Niall smiled and shook his head.  
"Narr I'm okay."

His friend gave an unconvince nod.  
"Okay, uh, come in."

Niall nodded and skipped up to the door.

"Can I-is it okay if I stay here the night?" Niall asked.

The other boy nodded slowly.  
"Sure, did you want to ring your mum-"

"No! I-I mean. That's fine, I'll ring her later." He forced out a laugh.

"Okay. Wha-what about you go up to my room and I'll be up in a sec? I'll get us something to eat?"

Niall smiled widely.  
"Thanks."

Niall decided before going into the bedroom he should fill up his drink bottle (so he wasn't constantly having to fill up his cup)

As he shut off the water he hear the younger boy talking.

'Uh, his mum must be home. Think I'll say hello.' The Irish boy bought to himself.

But as he got closer, he realised there wasn't another voice.

"-just thought you should know that he's here. You DID ask me to ring you if I saw-"

Niall gulped in deep breaths.  
'He lied to me. He lied.' He cried to himself, backing away from the kitchen entry.

He ran outside and down the long driveway. He ran, not knowing where he was going. And not caring.

The sky got darker and his phone was ringing non stop, from his parent's, his brother and that asshole he was meant to call his best friend.

Niall turned his phone off and looked up to see the bus depo ahead. He checked his wallet.

It felt like one of those moments where moths should have flown out of his wallet. Just to be little dramatic.

He sighed and sat down on the metal seat.

"Fuck." He whispered to himself.

He had literally been walking all day and he was tired and exhausted.

He didn't know when a middle aged women sat by him.

He kept cursing to himself.

When he felt like someone was watching him, he snapped his eyes over to the Person sitting next to him.

He was just about to ask "what are you looking at", (rather rudely, may I add.) when she asked if he was okay.

"Not at all, I've got no money to get a ticket back home. And my phone has gone flat so I can't even ring my mum to tell her I'm okay. I know she's gonna be worried." He forced himself to cry, hoping to guilt trip the poor woman, (even though he felt bad for doing it.)

The lady gave a sad 'tisk'.  
"Here, love," she said, handing his a few dollars.

"Th-thank you so-so much." He whipped at his fake tears.

The lady stood up, boarding the bus that just pulled up. She gave him a small wave.

He was close to dozing off when he saw the bus he needed to catch, pull up.

He stood up and took a few steps foreword, quickly looking around him to make sure he didn't drop anything.

He got on he bus and sat down on a vacant seat, breathing harshly when he noticed the lack of people, and the only people that were there, looked rather dodgy.

He gulped and hugged his bag to his chest.

He was tired but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't want to get mugged.

He opened his bag and pulled out his drink bottle and a sandwich.

He dozed off, waking up when he felt the bus stop. Once getting onto the sidewalk he started walking. Not making it far before a rush of exhaustion hit him and he sat down on a seat.

'Wish I had a jumper.' He shivered, his jaw shaking uncontrollably.

He stood back up, looking to a building that was just up ahead.

"That'll have to do." He sighed as he walked toward it.

It was an old toy factory that must've run out of business, there was still abandoned toys stacked against the walls, there was barely any dust, and the place didn't stink of rat piss. Yet.

He walked to what looked to be the staff lunch room. There was a ping pong table, a lounge, even a kettle and a few mug were left behind.

Niall flicked on the light.  
"Thank God it still has electricity." He mumbled to himself.

He chucked his bag on the couch as he went to turn the kettle on.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned it on. Receiving heaps of messages, miss calls and voicemails. Niall wiped at his face as he felt the tear fall. He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared or that he didn't miss his family.

Niall opened a few cupboard located around the room. Finding a few packet of soups and a packet of noodles.

Well, at lease there was a shower, even if there wasn't any soap.  
\--

Niall was sick of the calls, his mum's never ending sobbing made him feel guilty and had made him cry himself to sleep for the past 4 nights.

That's when he made his decision.  
He stood on top of the bridge, tears were running down his face, it seemed like a constant thing these days.

"I'm sorry, Mum. Dad." He sobbed, throwing his phone in the water below.

He made his way back to the old toy factory, hoping he could sleep the days away.

How could he do this to himself? To his family? How could he mess his life up so friggan bad? Or his family's for that matter.

He crawled back in through the hole in the wall and jumped onto the couch, sobbing.

His breathing came out in short puffs and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.

He doesn't remember passing out, he just remembers waking up feeling horrible, like he hadn't slept at all.

He dozed off again. Waking up to a pitch black room, and his stomach rumbling.

He stood up with a stretch. He opened the cupboard, revealing that there was only one packet of soup left.

The next day he filled up his water bottle, putting it in his backpack.

He took a deep breath and left the building. He couldn't stay here forever, he'd starve to death.

He spent the day looking through windows of all the stores. Someone even left half a sandwich at one of the cafes. (Yes, he did steal it, and then run away)

But the day ended and he had no idea where he could stay the night. He didn't know this part of the town.

He didn't hear when people walked up behind him, pushing him to the ground.

"Get his bag!" Yelled a voice.

Everything happened rather quickly, his bag was ripped from his shoulders, his wallet was stolen from his pocket. And a slap was introduced to his face.

When no other hits came, Niall uncovered his face, no one was around him.

He did have scrapes on his elbows and a sore cheek.

Niall held back the tears until he walked into the nearest public toilets.

"Can't believe I was just mugged." He sobbed.

He doesn't know how long he was there, or even when someone entered the toilets, until he sniffled.

"Hello?" Came the voice.

Niall curled into himself, not even knowing that this was the moment he was going to remember forever. That the guy talking to him outside of the cubical would stay by his side forever.  
\----  
\--Time skip--

Niall laughed as he planted kisses all over Zayn's face.

Zayn was smirking, trying to ignore the happy Irish boy.

"Do you two need a room? We could arrange something?" Louis smirked, walking over to the boys, kissing them both on the cheek.

Niall sighed.  
"I'm hungry, Lou." He pouted.

The remaining four boys all rolled their eyes.

"You're always hungry, Ni." Harry laughed.

"Let's go then, boys. Paul'll have food for us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter wasn't that good, I had trouble writting it :(


	5. Louis

"I'm so proud of you." His mum kissed him on the cheek.

"Ugh! Mum." He groaned with a smile, wiping of her 'germs'.

She smiled back.  
"Just-you're not my baby any more." She said tearfully.

He nodded.  
"I know. But I better get going. Gotta unpack boxes." He sniffled. Getting teary as well.

He wasn't kicked out and he didn't run away, he moved out, he was eighteen after all.

He thought he could handle it, being on his own. That was, until he couldn't. He lost his job because he was always either late or he would miss his shifts, his mum used to be his alarm clock.

So unable to pay rent, he got kicked out of his apartment.

He held his phone in his hand, his thumb hovered over his mum's number, but he couldn't go back.

Would his sisters laugh at him? What if his mum was disappointed?! THEN what?! He couldn't do that to her.

His mum was always telling him how proud she was of him.

She was so proud of him 'being a man' and moving out on his own, he couldn't ruin that.

So he locked his phone and sighed, putting his phone on one of the many packed boxes that were scattered around the room. He had to be out of the apartment in 3 days.

Instead of looking for a new home, he moved to an old run down house that he used to walk by everyday on his way to work.

He sighed once he had all that would fit into the house.  
"Home sweet home."

His first night was the scariest, every branch scraping on the window was like a monster trying to enter.

The floorboards were creaky, like someone pacing back and forth all night.

He sighed and pulled out his headphones, he listened to music until he fell asleep.

He got used to it. Eventually.  
\--

Louis doesn't even remember when it started, or how it happened, but somehow he became friends with the local Italian restaurant owner, Paul.

Paul gave Louis a few odd jobs around the restaurant, giving him money and free meals.

If Paul could give Louis more, he would. He REALLY would, it wasn't enough to rent an apartment or house, but it was something. At lease the eighteen year old was fed, clean, and had a roof over his head, that's all that really mattered.

Louis laid on his bed, looking up to the roof. He had just visited his mum. His mum still thought he had the same job and the same apartment, and he was happy letting her think that.

He checked his watch for the time.

"Time to go help Paul." He sighed, stretching as he stood up, slipping his beanie over his fluffy hair.

This was the routine he had for over two months before he found them. Two of the most perfect boys.

"Cya tomorrow Paul." Louis waved, with two pizza boxes in his hands.

He pulled his beanie down a little bit over his ears, it was rather cold this evening.

He was walking towards the direction of his house when a boy, two boys in fact, caught his eye.

A dark haired boy was carrying a smaller blonde haired boy. They didn't look very well.

Louis wanted to know if they were okay, but as he was walking over to them, the dark haired boy fell to the ground, dropping the other boy.

"Shit!" Louis swore, jogging over to them.

"You alright, lad?" He panicked.

He noticed the blonde boy was the same boy on the missing posters.

'Was it Neil? Niall? Nail?' He thought to himself.

He couldn't help but realise how beautiful they were. Stunning even. And that moment was the first step of them being his.

The first two misfits to their broken puzzle.  
\----  
\--Time Skip--

Louis walked through the door, just having finished at the restaurant, he had a few take away containers full of pasta.

He wasn't expecting to be bombarded by Liam, who planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"You're home!" He smiled.

Louis smiled back.  
"I told you I wouldn't be long." He kissed Liam on the lips.

"We know but we missed you." Zayn joined the conversation, thrusting his crotch into Louis' hip.

Louis smirked seductively before planting a kiss to his cheek.

He looked over to the two youngest boys. Both were blushing, Harry had his red face buried in the side of Niall's neck.

"Blushing virgins." Liam laughed.

Louis walked over to sit on the bed.  
"We'll do that later, Zayn. But first, let's eat!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had too many ideas for Louis but couldn't write them all together. So instead we have this!


	6. Liam

Where'd they go? They were here when he left for school.

Liam frowned.

He rang his dad's number.  
No answer.

He tried his mum's.  
No answer.

His sisters?  
STILL no answer.

He was starting to get anxious. The house was empty. COMPLETELY empty!

He backed away from the door and ran to his grandma's house, she lived just around the corner.

Or at lease she did...

She wasn't home either, her house was cleared out just like his.

"What the fuck is going on!" He screamed. Pulling hard at his curls.

A sob slipped past his lips. He ran to his friend's house.

"Open up! Please! Please open up!" He banged on the door.

His friend's mum opened the door with a worried look.

"Liam. What's wrong? What's happened?" She was quick to pull the boy into a hug.

"They're gone." He sobbed.  
"They're not answering their phones. They're gone."

She shushed him, calling her son down stairs.

Liam heard his friend's panicked voice.

"Liam? What's wrong?!" His friend gently pushed past his mum and engulfed the crying boy into his arms.

"Take him to your room, dear. I'm going to ring his parents." She said sadly.

Liam couldn't stop the tears. How could they leave him?! Where'd they even go?!

Liam wasn't sure how long he was crying for, but soon his tears had stopped and his head was buried in the other boy's neck.

He heard his friend's dad enter the house before he heard talking.

The words "Liam" "family" "gone", and then clear as day, Liam heard

"-so I rang her number and she said she doesn't want him. She doesn't want the responsibility-"

The arms around Liam tightened.

"They left me." Liam sniffled.

He was out of tears, but the numbing ache was still there.

Once everyone was in bed asleep, Liam got out of bed, put on his jacket and hat, grabbing his shoes that were still by the front door, and walked out of the house.

He put his hands in his jacket pocket and walked for a while, until an approaching car came into view. He stuck his thumb out.

The car slowed down, stopping beside him.

A middle aged man and women were in the car.

"Need a lift somewhere, Son?" The man asked.

Liam nodded.  
"As far as you're going? If that's okay?"

The man turned to the women in the car. She nodded.  
"We're going to London, so if that's okay, hop in."

Liam nodded and opened the door, climbing into the car.

"Thank you. So much."

He was tired, exhausted even, he rested his head on the window, falling asleep.  
\---

Once they arrived in London, the lady woke him up, he woke up feeling like he hadn't slept at all. His whole body ached with exhaustion.

The couple dropped him off at the closes fast food restaurant.

He said thanks and goodbye before getting something to eat. He didn't have a lot of money. Just enough to get him a meal or two for a few days.

Once he ate, he started walking. Not for very long tho, just until he walked past an old run down house. It looked creepy. And haunted.

He walked to the house and opened the door. He froze as three pairs of eyes looked up at him in shock.

"Oh Shi- I'm- I'm so sorry I- I thought it was empty-" He panicked. Quickly shutting the door and running away.

Before running away, he faintly heard the words "wait a minute!"

But he kept running. He was sure they were gonna be angry at him for barging in like that.

He sighed as his exhausted body ached.

He stopped running as he walked over a bridge, looking down at the water below.

'I wonder what it's like to jump.' He thought to himself, tears started to run down his cheeks at the thoughts.

'Would I die? Or would I just get injured?' He was about to climb up, he had one foot up on the railing when someone grabbed his arm rather harshly.

"Why are you doing?!" Came a panicked voice.

Liam looked to the person beside him. The other boy was panting harshly, like he just ran a marathon.

"Nothing." Liam mumbled.

The other boy looked worried. His grip didn't ease up.

"Wait. You're the boy from before. I'm sorry I walked in there, I-i didn't think anyone would be in there, I just needed a place to st- I'm sorry." He stopped talking, not wanting to tell the boy in front of him that apparently his family don't even want him, that they moved away while he was at school, just to get away.

"It's fine-just-just get your foot down, you're making me nervous." The boy gulped.

Liam nodded and took his foot off the railing. The other boy let go of his arm.

"I'm Louis." The boy smiled, extending his hand out. Worry still in his eyes.

"Liam." Liam mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Louis nodded.  
"You alright, Mate? You don't seem okay-" he was cut off when two voices came from behind them.

"Louis!" Came the voices.

Liam and Louis looked in the direction. Louis smile and Liam stepped back.

"Don't run off like that!" One of the boys said, punching him in the arm.

"I'm fine. This is Liam. Liam, this is Zayn and Niall."

Liam nodded.

The blonde haired boy smiled brightly at him, pushing past Louis.

"So what're you doing out here? It's getting pretty late. Do you need help?" He asked.

Liam was about to tell them his story, but instead shook his head.

"No! I'm-I'm fine. Thank you."

Zayn tilted his head to the side.  
"You're a bad liar, you know that?"

Louis nodded.  
"Why don't you come back to our house. We can help you get home in the morning."

Liam was about to object when Niall dragged his arm in the direction he had come from.

They entered the place and Liam shivered from the cold. He was sure it was colder inside than outside.

"Here." Louis said, holding out a small bowl.  
"It's lamb casserole." He said.

Liam frowned. Taking the warm bowl from his hands.  
"Thank you." He mumbled.

"So why are you out so late? One would think being out so late, you would have just walked home, instead you walked into an old run down house to look for shelter."

Liam swallowed the thick ball in his throat and coughed. He looked to the warm bowl in his hands.

"I-I came home from school and they, they were gone. They left me." He sniffled, wiping his nose of his sleeve.

Louis got up from where he was sitting and sat by Liam, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry. We've all got our stories. Us three know what it's like. Not exactly like that, but we know."

Liam sniffled again and nodded.

The boys spent the night telling Liam their own stories.

It made Liam feel a little better. He accepted their invitation to stay at the house, saying he will only stay until he gets back on his feet.

But, he didn't expect to fall in love and stay with them, and then meeting Harry, he defiantly couldn't leave.  
\--  
\--Time Skip--

Liam ran his hand through the youngest's boys hair.

Harry let out a whine followed by loud cough, taking loud deep breathes in between each coughing fit.

"You're alright, Harry. Try and get some sleep." The older boy said.

"Don't leave me." Harry begged, clinging desperately onto Liam's free hand.

"I won't, love, I'm right here."

He looked over to Zayn and Louis who were both talking to each other. And then to Niall who was asleep on the other side of the bed, next to Harry.

"We're gonna go get him some medicine." Louis said, before pulling Zayn out the door.

Liam gave a low chuckle before shaking his head, still running his fingers through Harry's hair.

"Love you." He said, shuffling Harry over so he too could climb into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I was meant to upload this yesterday but got caught up reading Kellic fics!


	7. The End

They didn't have their real families anymore, so they had to make-do with what they had. But they were fine with that.

They had little amount of money, used for the essentials that they needed, a roof over their heads, they were clean, had clean clothes and three meals every day.

They even had each other to love and be loved by. They didn't need anything else.

Things will get better, whether it was days, weeks, months or years from now.

It always got better.

So they held on to that. Waiting for the day their lives would 'start'. Where they lived in a proper house with hot water and a heater, where they had steady jobs, and could travel the world when ever they liked.

Their day would come. They just had to be patient.

And until then, they would just be the rejects. The strays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
